Expectation – Experience = Frustration
The EXPECTATION: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” ~ Martha…John 11:21
The EXPERIENCE: So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead” ~ Jesus…John 11:14
Events like Lazarus’ death in scripture can give us a little holy whiplash. Could Jesus have saved Lazarus before he died? YES! The fact that He didn’t caused some great frustration on the part of His friends, Martha and Mary.
And let’s be brutally honest, when Jesus doesn’t meet our expectation, we get frustrated too. The seeming unmet expectation can sometimes cause us to retreat back into our spiritual shell so that our hopes won’t be dashed again. We quit asking God for miraculous things so as not to put ourselves “out there” for more disappointment.
It reminds me of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4. She had longed for a child for years, but her expectation and experience were not matching up. Even when Elisha prophesied that she would have a son, she replied, “No, my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your maidservant” (2 Kings 4:16). Some of you know this feeling – you don’t want to be hurt yet again by an unmet expectation.
The gap between our expectation and our experience = frustration. <Tweet this
But in many instances, God skips over meeting our expectation so He can exceed our expectation. He allowed Lazarus to die so it wasn’t simply a healing…it was a RESURRECTION. No one expected that!
Paul just spells it out plain and simple for us in Ephesians 3:20.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us…
So go ahead and ask God for specific outcomes, but if you experience an answer that does not MEET your expectation – get ready! He very well may be planning to EXCEED them far more abundanly beyond your wildest imagination. And the same Holy Spirit power that raised Lazarus from the grave indwells in us.
So let’s redefine the gap between our expectation and our experience. Instead of the difference being frustration, it can now be a “far more abundantly beyond” moment!
